UNC blanked by Miami as Canes clinch top seed in ACC

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Miami — No. 4 Miami got six scoreless innings from starter Bryan Radziewski and clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title with a 2-0 win over North Carolina Saturday afternoon at Alex Rodriguez Park.

Zac Gallen was Radziewski's equal for much of the day, allowing just two runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings and striking out six in a losing effort. Michael Russell had two hits for the Tar Heels, who finished the regular season 32-23 and 15-15 in the ACC.

The Tar Heels and the N.C. State Wolfpack will play an elimination game at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Greensboro. The winner will advance to pool play in the ACC tournament.

Miami (40-15, 24-6 ACC) scored once in the first and once in the fourth against Gallen and the Tar Heels. Tyler Palmer reached on a one-out triple when his bloop to right got past a diving Tyler Ramirez, and David Thompson plated Palmer with a single up the middle.

Skye Bolt almost erased the second run of the day when his strike from center after a one-out fly ball beat Thompson to the plate. But Thompson's clean, hard slide knocked the ball away from Korey Dunbar and the Canes had a 2-0 lead.

Carolina's best chance came in the fifth, when Ramirez and Adrian Chacon reached on consecutive singles to open the frame against Radziewski. After a failed sacrifice attempt for the first out, Russell blooped a ball in front of Palmer in left to load the bases. But Miami's redshirt junior lefty struck out Parks Jordan and Landon Lassiter swinging to end the threat and strand three.

Bolt led off the sixth with a double to left, but he was erased on a double play when Willie Abreu's throw from left beat him to the bag at third.

Lassiter walked with two gone in the eighth to bring on Bryan Garcia, and the Miami closer got the final four outs of the game to end it and give the Canes the ACC regular season title.

Zach Rice entered the game for Carolina in the seventh and retired all five batters he faced to keep the game close.

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